The Mearsmaine Chronicles 1 - The Return of the Queen

Chapter 32 - Darkness and Lovers

Lewis knocked on his cousin's door and walked in without even waiting for her answer. The blonde girl was sitting on her bed and looked up to see the blond boy close her door behind him: he brought her armor hanging from his right arm. His own was already dressed, a simple and light silvery vest accompanied by black trousers. He had his sword hanging from his waist and carried his bow and arrows on his back. Lewis smiled to his cousin, but it wasn't his usual smile, it was a concerned one, a sad smile that told Lizz everything she needed to know: Uldreyin was there and the battle was about to start. The girl lifted herself from the Queen's bed and undressed her robe. She had already put on her trousers and underwear. The only thing missing was the vest: Lewis had designed it for her and had had it made before they went to the Human's world.

Both blond elves did not say a word as Lewis helped Elizabeth with her clothes. The armor was beautiful, the color of dark wine. The material was light so it would not slow down her movements and it covered all her torso. The golden motifs, which were exactly the color of her hair, made it look more feminine and sophisticated. Lewis buttoned it at her back and told her to do the same for the front laces. However, the Queen didn't. She could not stand the silence any longer, so she turned to her cousin and finally spoke the words both of them were avoiding.

'We can die today.' She told him, as if saying it made it any more real. It did not. It was already real enough.

Lewis, for once in his life, had lost his happy and optimistic smile. His face was serious, without any hint of his usual childish feeling mirrored in it. His hands went to rest on his cousin's shoulders. They were both the same size, so it was easy for him to look her right in the eyes. 'I will gladly die for what I believe in, Lizzie. And I will gladly give my life for whom I love too.' He told her. It wasn't necessary for him to tell her that: she knew it. Nevertheless, somehow, those words made the tears come to her eyes, and the blond girl needed a real effort not to let them fall freely down her face.

'You won't need to.' She told him, lifting her hand to rest it on his face. Lewis smiled to her, sadly, not the grin he always gave people so freely. 'You know, Lewis, you are the best cousin I could ever ask for.' The girl paused: she had never realized how much those people now meant to her, not only Nathaniel, but all of them, especially Lewis and Nigel, they were her family. She had never had a family before and, now that she did, she could be on the verge of losing it. 'Thank you for everything, really. I don't know how I would have made it without you and Nigel to support me.'

The blond boy shook his head. 'No, Lizzie. We're the ones who could never have made it without you. You're the hero to this story.' He smiled again, a genuine smile, but the tears were approaching his eyes. 'But, by the way, you really are a kick-ass cousin, even though you can be a real pain in the ass, sometimes.'

They both chuckled and gazed at each other: it was one of those friendships that could not be expressed by words. Lewis got up on his tip-toes and kissed Lizz's forehead in a brotherly way, because that was what he was for her, a brother, no matter if it was younger or older or the same age, he would always be her brother, even if not by blood.

They stepped away from one another and Elizabeth sat on her dressing table as Lewis got behind her to braid her hair, as it would not be very comfortable to fight a battle while swallowing your own curly hair. Lewis started at the top of her head, where he braid a third of her hair into a large braid; he did the same with the two thirds left in the left and right side of her head, then united all of it in a big fat braid that fell down to her back. Like that, it would not get in her way. The boy looked at his cousin and smiled. 'You look beautiful.' He said in all honesty. Elizabeth smiled, but did not answer him. They both knew that it didn't matter the way she looked, not at that point anyway.